My Home From Home (ManxMan)

Chapter 31

"What!?" Henry's blood ran cold through his veins while Callum gulped nervously as he watched his raven haired cousin turn around to glare at him, pure, unadulterated shock washing over his Sapphire blue eyes.  "Are you mad!? How could you do such a thing?!"

"Oh come now, Harry, don't let's make a thing of it. I didn't expect you of all people to go ballistic on me; you've always been a rebel." Callum rolled his eyes at him, though Henry wasn't taking it so casually; Callum was ever the pragmatist, and knowing how aristocratic families like his worked, he knew there was likely a very valid reason that Callum would've tried to elope.

"Don't be daft, I'm not going ballistic, I'm just trying to understand..." Huffed Henry tensely; knowing this was just the beginning of the story. As he glanced up towards his cousin, he saw a deep melancholy in his green eyes; clearly with a weight upon  "Who is she?" Henry took a softer tone, knowing in that moment his cousin needed a calm support system.

"Her name is Niamh." The corners of Callum's lips perked upward into a smile as he thought about his beloved. "Niamh O'Connor. She's Mr O'Connor's daughter."

"The tenant farmer, Mr O'Connor...?" Henry's gazed disappointedly towards his cousin, who simply nodded at him; though he wasn't disappointed by his cousin's love, more so the situation as a while. The O'Connor's were a traditional and warm-hearted Irish Catholic family had been tenant farmer's on the Anglo-Irish Duke of Ulster's country estate, Dunmurry Castle just outside Derry. Though Henry didn't know the O'Connor's personally, he knew one thing for absolutely certain; the socioeconomic class difference between Callum and Niamh would make things difficult for both of them, but mostly for Niamh. He knew how harsh the aristocracy could be, how cold, how unfeeling, how cruel; he knew that the'd never accept them, and if anything he felt it terribly unfair to her.

"I was helping Papa with the running of the estate, and I happened past the O'Connor farm just to discuss some things concerning the growing season with Mr O'Connor. That's when I saw her, the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen; she had ivory white skin, red tresses cascading down to her slender waist, eyes green like an Irish shamrock..." Callum's voice sounded almost numb, his eyes lovelorn with a tinge of pain as Henry felt his heart shatter into a million peaces; he could tell Callum loved Niamh, but he also knew the path before them would be filled with so much difficulty. They'd face bigotry, hatred, scorn, disapproval at so many stages that it made Henry's heart ache for them. "I would make excuses to go round and see her, I was addicted to the way she'd blush whenever I was around... We began courting secretly, until we decided he wanted to spend the rest of our lives together..."

"I went to Papa to ask his permission to marry Niamh, and he rejected it outright. He told me that Niamh was the daughter of a tenant farmer and could hardly be a suitable choice to be the next Duchess of Ulster." Muttered Callum  through gritted teeth. "I was fuming, I hated him, I hated that he was standing in the way of my love, my happiness. So I planned the whole thing, we were going to meet by nightfall and drive away together to Dublin where we'd take the next boat to Liverpool and get married. But Papa caught us just as we were about to leave... God, Henry I can still see his face, the disappointment, the disdain, the disapproval; it's etched in my mind. He told me to leave. He said he didn't want to see my face ever again. He said that no son of his would go behind his back and purposely disobey his wishes...." Callum's voice cracked heart-wrenchingly as Henry felt his lip quiver ever so slightly.  "So I left... I didn't know where to go, or what to do, but then I remembered you; you've always been on my side, Harry, always fighting in my corner no matter what."

"There are far worse crimes than love, Cal." Sighed Henry as a smile began to creep over his lightly parted lips. "You're welcome here for as long as you need, you're family after all." He pulled his cousin into his arms as both men hugged as old friends do when separated for prolonged periods. Though Henry was weary of Callum's involvement with the Irish rebels fighting to end British rule, he knew for version that Callum wasn't the first nor only Anglo-Irish nobleman to be involved in the cause; he just rather hoped nobody in his family would go that route.